Guests attend the opening ceremony of the 2025 International Forum on Mutual Learning among Civilizations in Macao, south China, Dec. 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

​The 2025 International Forum on Mutual Learning among Civilizations kicked off on Tuesday in China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), featuring more than 20 thematic sessions and academic exchange sessions.

Spanning two days and themed "Mutual Learning among Civilizations, Inheritance and Development," the forum brings together around 300 representatives from government departments and international organizations, as well as leading experts and scholars worldwide, according to the organizer.

Wang Gang, deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said in his address at the opening ceremony that the holding of the forum is a vivid practice of the Global Civilization Initiative, providing a new platform for equal dialogue, exchanges, mutual learning, and mutual inspiration among different civilizations.

O Lam, secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao SAR government, noted in her remarks that the forum marks a new starting point for conducting civilizational dialogue with Macao as a platform. "We're pleased to have experts from home and abroad share ideas, explore trends, and find new solutions together to address challenges," she said.

Participants are scheduled to discuss topics such as how dialogue and mutual learning among different civilizations can promote prosperity and development for humanity, and how to conserve world heritage while achieving development.

Held in Macao for the first time, the forum is hosted by the Macao SAR government and organized by its Cultural Affairs Bureau, and supported by the Chinese Academy of History under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

O Lam, secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government, speaks at the opening ceremony of the 2025 International Forum on Mutual Learning among Civilizations in Macao, south China, Dec. 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)